Adland cautiously welcomes Labour government in UK

Adland has cautioned the incoming Labour government in the UK against rushing into regulation to ensure the industry continues to “thrive”.

ISBA, the IPA, the Advertising Association and the IAB all congratulated Keir Starmer and the Labour party on their British landslide victory and said they looked forward to working with the government “to help deliver Labour’s mission of kickstarting economic growth”.

But a note of caution was sounded around regulation, with the IPA making the case for the “highly successful and internationally renowned self and co-regulatory system, overseen by the ASA”.

Paul Bainsfair, director general of the IPA, said: “If the UK’s advertising industry is to continue to thrive, it needs to be allowed to innovate without unnecessary legislative intervention.”

Bainsfair reiterated the policy areas the IPA wants the government to focus on, including investing in creative subjects in education, reform of apprenticeships and international cooperation in the safe development of AI.

Stephen Woodford, chief executive of the AA, said advertising played an “important societal role”, including raising awareness of registering to vote, increasing vaccination uptake, promoting mental health issues, encouraging behaviour change around food waste and providing funding for culture, media and sport.

“The UK needs to remain at the forefront of the data-driven economy. Regulatory certainty and support for the Advertising Standards Authority is key, as well as reforming education and skills policies to ensure our industry has the best creative and digital talent for our continued success and to grow jobs and investment.”

Clockwise from top left: Paul Bainsfair, Christie Dennehy-Neil, Stephen Woodford and Phil Smith.

Christie Dennehy-Neil, head of policy and regulatory affairs at the IAB, said the new government was a “valuable opportunity to take stock and reassess how to address challenges within the online ecosystem”.

She said Labour should not “automatically pick up where the Conservatives left off when it comes to making policy decisions about further regulation of digital advertising” and the IAB wanted to work with the government to “evolve the regulatory framework in an evidence-based and proportionate way”. 

“It's in everyone’s interests to strike the right balance between managing the risk of consumer harm and supporting the UK’s digital advertising industry – and the wider digital economy that it drives – to thrive,” she added.

Phil Smith, director general of ISBA, said it was committed to the Online Advertising Taskforce, set up to tackle harms and protect children. 

“The UK’s system of self and co-regulation of advertising content and placement has proven to be a world-leading success story,” he said. “We ask the government to continue to support this.”

ISBA called for clarity on new food and drink advertising regulations, covering salt, sugar and fat, begun under the previous administration and delayed until after the general election.

Smith said: “Advertisers are desperate for clarity and certainty on what products, categories and media are in or out of scope of the new regulations. Many brands are already having to plan ad campaigns without the finalised rules and guidance they need. Passing the necessary secondary regulations would be an easy, pro-business and pro-growth step for this incoming government to take.”